Political Cartoonists and the Law

© 2008 Copyright is vested in the authors. Apart from any fair dealing permitted according to the provisions of the Copyright Act, reproduction by any process of any part of the work may not be undertaken without written permission from the copyright holders of Comic Commentators.Political cartoonists feel various forces for ‘censorship’ on and in their work. Often these are informal pressures that are based on moral or commercial interests, or the amorphous notion of ‘good taste’.1 This chapter seeks to focus on the formal legal pressures on cartoonists. We suspect that cartoonists fear (and are led to fear by cautious editorial staff) more legal sanction than is likely to be the case, and that ‘legalling’ of cartoons before publication is often a cover for other sensitivities. But we first need to look at the state of the law.Pert

Law school lemonade - or can you turn external pressures into educational advantages?

In a context of ever-dwindling resources, this article encourages legal academics to seek innovative strategies to safeguard the integrity of our mission. Teaching innovation funding, more effective use of students as a resource and a willingness to be flexible when it comes to content coverage are suggested as means to maintain, or even improve, not just teaching quality but morale among academic staff. The article challenges the notion that smaller class sizes are necessary for higher teaching quality, suggesting the alternative of collaborative learning groups to keep students engaged and to encourage deep and independent approaches to learning. Collaborative learning provides additional benefits in freeing up staff time and engaging us in the educational process at a level more commensurate with our skills and expertise

Tackling food marketing to children in a digital world: trans-disciplinary perspectives. Children’s rights, evidence of impact, methodological challenges, regulatory options and policy implications for the WHO European Region

There is unequivocal evidence that childhood obesity is influenced by marketing of foods and non-alcoholic beverages high in saturated fat, salt and/or free sugars (HFSS), and a core recommendation of the WHO Commission on Ending Childhood Obesity is to reduce children’s exposure to all such marketing. As a result, WHO has called on Member States to introduce restrictions on marketing of HFSS foods to children, covering all media, including digital, and to close any regulatory loopholes. This publication provides up-to-date information on the marketing of foods and non-alcoholic beverages to children and the changes that have occurred in recent years, focusing in particular on the major shift to digital marketing. It examines trends in media use among children, marketing methods in the new digital media landscape and children’s engagement with such marketing. It also considers the impact on children and their ability to counter marketing as well as the implications for children’s rights and digital privacy. Finally the report discusses the policy implications and some of the recent policy action by WHO European Member States

Media, public health and law: A lawyer's primer on the food advertising debate

Australi

Regulatory axes on food advertising to children on television

This article describes and evaluates some of the criteria on the basis of which food advertising to children on television could be regulated, including controls that revolve around the type of television programme, the type of product, the target audience and the time of day. Each of these criteria potentially functions as a conceptual device or "axis" around which regulation rotates. The article considers examples from a variety of jurisdictions around the world, including Sweden and Quebec. The article argues that restrictions centring on the time of day when a substantial proportion of children are expected to be watching television are likely to be the easiest for consumers to understand, and the most effective in limiting children's exposure to advertising

What's in it for Children? Dedicated Channels and the Effectiveness of Regulation

Carlton, VI

Voluntary codes no real protection for kids

Earlier this year the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs held an inquiry into the regulation of billboard and outdoor advertising. The inquiry released its report, Reclaiming Public Space: Inquiry into the regulation of billboard and outdoor advertising, in July. The authors of this essay represent two organisations supporting children’s interests in relation to the media, the Australian Council on Children and the Media (ACCM) and the Coalition on Food Advertising to Children (CFAC). Both organisations made submissions to the inquiry. In this essay we outline the concerns that exist in relation to outdoor advertising and the way it is currently regulated; the Standing Committee’s recommendations; and some further reflections on those recommendations